AAS Committee on the Status of Women
Issue of June 28, 2013
eds. Michele M. Montgomery, Daryl Haggard, & Nick Murphy
This week's issues:
1. CSWA Townhall - Recap
2. The Pregnant Astronomer: Part I
3. Findings: A Report on Women in Technology
4. NASA's Newest Female Astronauts - Who Are They?
5. Stella - A Story of Women in Astronomy
6. Dove Beauty Sketches
7. Dolores Hill - Champion of Change
8. Job Opportunities
9. How to Submit to the AASWomen Newsletter
10. How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the AASWomen Newsletter
11. Access to Past Issues of the AASWomen Newsletter
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1. CSWA Townhall - Recap
From: Nicolle Zellner via womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
The CSWA hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Indy AAS meeting on Tuesday, June 6,
from 12:45 to 1:45 in Wabash Ballroom 3. Around 40 people, including three
previous CSWA chairs, were in attendance to listen to current chair, Joan
Schmelz, present information about unconscious bias, stereotype threat, and
impostor syndrome. The presentation was designed to elicit audience discussion
on topics included in the 2010 AAUW report "Why So Few?", some of which is
summarized here.
To read more, please see
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/
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2. The Pregnant Astronomer: Part I
From: Kate Follette, Guest Blogger at womeninastronomy.blogspot.com
This is the first in a series of three posts that I'll be writing about
pregnancy, and this one will be focused on tips and tricks for the first half
(weeks 1-20 or so) of the 9 month journey to motherhood. Women have a huge
diversity of pregnancy experiences and I cannot speak for everyone, so I've
called on some colleagues to contribute to the "Tips and Tricks" section at the
end of the article. If nothing else, I encourage you to scroll to the bottom of
this article and soak in some of their wisdom. Whether you're a man or a woman,
have children, will have children, or intend not to, I think there's something
to be learned for everyone in there.
To read more, please see
http://womeninastronomy.blogspot.com/
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3. Findings: A Report on Women in Technology
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
[Thank you Nancy Brickhouse for pointing us to this very important set of findings -- eds.]
Some womens' issues in science have little to do with the females themselves,
but instead are systematic problems within whole organizations such as pushing
women aside and not providing ample leadership opportunities. A report on 'Women
in Technology: Leaders of Tomorrow" aims to find out what engages women leaders,
what support is needed to encourage advancement, and what leaders think of
themselves and their skills. Three findings from the report are
1. Women in tech are ambitious
2. Less than One-Fourth of women think their company 'walks the talk' on women's
advancement
3. Women believe they have different core traits than today's leaders
In the latter finding, the top three traits of today's leaders are thought to be
collaborative, innovative, and decisive whereas women think of themselves as
more collaborative, honest, and goal-orientated but not really innovative or
decisive. Does this mean that the traits of tomorrow's leaders will change or do
women lack the traits needed for today's leaders or women need training to
acquire the traits of today's leaders?
To read more and the full report, please see
http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2013/06/20/three-takeaways-in-our-latest-research-on-
women-in-tech-that-will-really-make-you-think/
and
http://www.evolvedemployer.com/media/2013/06/TheGlassHammer_WomenInTechnologyFINAL.pdf
respectively.
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4. NASA's Newest Female Astronauts - Who Are They?
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
According to Janet Kavandi, NASA's director of flight crew operations at Johnson
Space Center, the women selected in this year's class of astronauts were not
chosen because of their gender. These women were among the most qualified of the
interviewees. The new female astronaut trainers are Anne McClain, Nicole Mann,
Jessica Meir, and Christina Hammock. McClain and Mann were pilots at the U.S.
Naval Test Pilot School and the U.S. Naval Air Station. Meir is an assistant
professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Hammock is a NOAO station
chief in American Samoa.
To read more on these women, please see...
http://www.space.com/21614-nasa-astronaut-class-women.html
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5. Stella - A Story about Women in Astronomy
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
Stella is a play that was held a few nights ago at the Smock Alley Theatre in
Dublin. The play is about women, astronomy, time, and space. Two women
astronomers are both looking at the same sky, but at different times, and both
are searching for understanding. Caroline Herschel is an astronomer from the
18th century, working as an assistant to her brother William but longing for a
family and a home of her own. Jessica Bell is a modern day astronomer from the
21st century, contemplating losing both her family and her home because of her
career.
To read a synopsis, please see
http://westend.broadwayworld.com/article/Women-Astronomy-Take-the-Lead-in-STELLA-
Kicking-Off-Summer-Tour-at-Brighton-Fringe-May-29-20130528
To watch a 2 minute YouTube synopsis, please see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq51pMydpWs
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6. Dove Beauty Sketches
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
The Dove Real Beauty Sketches video shows how women tend to devalue their own
beauty. As noted in Sheryl Sandberg's book Lean In, women do not tend to ask for
promotions, take on new assignments, and ask for more responsibility. Women are
their own worst critics, it seems.
To see the Dove Beauty Sketches Video, please see
http://realbeautysketches.dove.us/
A very funny parody of the Dove video was also made on how men see themselves. To see the parody, please see
http://www.elephantjournal.com/2013/04/dove-experiment-parody-how-men-see-ourselves-video/
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7. Dolores Hill - Champion of Change
From: Michele M. Montgomery [montgomery_at_physics.ucf.edu]
Delores Hill is one of twelve 'Champions of Change' recipients honored at the
White House for co-leading the OSIRIS-REx Target Asteroids Program. She is a
researcher at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. The
'Champions of Change' recognizes efforts by groups or individuals that are
changing their community.
To read more:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112884744/dolores-hill-honored-white-house-
champion-of-change-062713/
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8. Job Opportunities
For those interested in increasing excellence and diversity in their
organizations, a list of resources and advice is here:
http://www.aas.org/cswa/diversity.html#howtoincrease
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University-Commerce invites
applications for the position of Assistant Professor with an emphasis in STEM
outreach and education. For details and to apply, please visit
http://jobpath.tamu.edu/postings/59195.
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9. How to Submit to the AASWOMEN newsletter
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11. Access to Past Issues
http://www.aas.org/cswa/AASWOMEN.html
Each annual summary includes an index of topics covered.